The first week of the fasting was great – my skin was clear, I felt fantastic, and the weight was dropping off. Also my cravings for anything ‘carbie’ or sweet were completely gone, and my energy levels were stable.

Come Friday though, the inevitable weekend of eating out made for some interesting discoveries. I seemed to be a lot more sensitive to foods that previously wouldn’t have bothered me, starting with the Fish Taco from Nicks on Friday afternoon, then the hash browns with my breakfast on the Saturday, and the sugar in the cocktail and sorbet Saturday night. By Monday, any (water) weight lost was back, along with the puffy face in the morning.

Week 2 was a little more bumpy, but with some key decisions being made. By Wed my weight was back down to that of the previous Friday, and the Ketostix were showing I was indeed in a slightly heightened state of ketosis. That was good. I also had dinner and drinks out every night that week booked in from Wednesday to Saturday – that was bad. I’m discovering quickly that my beloved glass of red wine is a key contributor to the puffy-face, so am trying out swapping to dry white. Having a whisky or a vodka with dinner instead still just seems a little too hardcore…. but if you’re interested, here’s an Infographic from Dave Asprey on what alcohols are best if you’re following the BulletProof diet:

So the good? When being mindful about what I’m eating at all times, I feel bloody good on this eating protocol. And even with eating out (with wine) for almost half of the nights of the two week test, I managed to keep a couple pounds off. The bad? Any digressions seem to take their toll a whole lot more. There’s a conversation in here about keeping toxin levels high to not be affected by food that is terrible for us vs living a better life with different choices, but I’ll save that for another day. The ugly? MCT Oil truly does do evil things if you take too much of it too soon.

As I mentioned before though, I made some decisions to start testing things, like liver & kidney function, ketosis in the morning and body fat. Having goals to get healthier, live better, goals to decrease body fat rather than weight, these goals are much better than ones that hold you hostage daily to a set of scales. To kick off my testing I visited the Body Composition Centre in Redwood City to get my body fat and bone density testing; I’ll post later this week on my results, and a very surprising finding…

So I’m on to week 2 of BulletProof Coffee and Intermittent Fasting, and I have learned a lot.

The good :

skin clearer

puffy face gone

no debilitating tummy grumbles and light-headedness

great energy levels

cravings for carbs or starchy foods completely gone

The ‘not so good’:

weight is the same as when I started (4 pounds gain/loss due to water or constipation is pretty normal)

This past weekend I continued with the coffee in the morning. I did slip up some: namely with a couple of whiskey sours on Friday night (date night with the hubby), hash browns with my brunch at around 1pm on Saturday, sorbet and a cocktail after dinner Saturday night and a couple of glasses on red wine on Sunday night.

After the drama of Friday my normal morning ‘routine’ was pretty messed up, so it’s a little hard to tell what’s what. I did however wake up Monday morning with the puffy face having returned and feeling more tired than I had in a while. Also my weight had returned ( I didn’t weigh myself over the weekend) to exactly what I was last Monday when I started the BulletProof Intermittent Fasting.

Interesting.

As much as I crave to lead a ‘normal’ life, I’m realizing that normal doesn’t have to mean the right to constantly eat foods that make me feel swollen and tired. I’m also realizing – again – that measuring on a daily basis pounds lost is not a great test. Body Fat, tightness of clothing, energy levels, quality of sleep… these are better.

So this week I’m testing 2 things: Body Fat and Ketosis.

My body fat I’m having tested via a DXA scan at the Body Composition Center. My state of ketosis I’m testing using Urinalysis Reagent Strips, though I appreciate these are not the most reliable. I’ve been testing for 2 days and am not showing any heightened ketosis yet – I expect to start seeing this from tomorrow as it takes 48 hours to burn the glucose I’ve stored over my higher-carb weekend.

If you haven’t read about Ketones and the benefits of a Ketogenic diet before, Ketosis is a fat burning mode that is good for your brain (not to be confused with Ketoacidosis – a dangerous condition for diabetics with the main element being acid, not ketones).

Recent studies by Dr. Dominic D’Agostino have shown that not only does a Ketogenic diet burn fat, it also can starve cancer cells and and staves off almost all degenerative diseases. With my grandmother having died recently from a fall related to her severe alzheimer’s disease, studies like Dr D’Agostino’s, along with real life testimonies of Dr Mary T Newport’s husband regressing in his state of alzheimer’s disease are particularly pertinent to me.

These studies are not new or fads – in fact in 2001, Dr. Richard L. Veech of the NIH, published an article entitled Ketone bodies, potential therapeutic uses in which he records that ketosis “has also been shown to decrease cell death in two human neuronal cultures, one a model of Alzheimer’s and the other of Parkinson’s disease”.

In my silly pursuit of losing the ‘last 5 pounds’ I have stumbled upon something that will positively impact the rest of my life. And though weight can be an easy distractor, the real shortcuts in health I am seeking are ways to live a bigger, better, longer life.

Today I am introducing in to my blog a new love of mine that will feature significantly in my posts from now on: shortcuts in health and fitness. In keeping with what not to do, I’m going to start testing out plus revisiting past experiences on successful and failed shortcuts – from biohacking to optimum exercise times and everything in between.

Since having moved to America, I am quickly discovering that everything in America is a race. This discovery is actually pretty ok with me, as I do much better when focused on a goal. The problem is, I lead a full life and am not that excited about increasing the time spent each day on things, like losing those pesky 5 (10) pounds that attached themselves to me on a recent Foodie Trip to Peru (more on that to come in another post). Instead my goal is to get smarter about the time I spend, in order to achieve goals faster in the same – or less – time spent.

Enter BulletProof Coffee and Intermittent Fasting. I had heard through Paleo-loving friends about putting butter in coffee, but wrongly assumed that this was just because they couldn’t have cream. As my husband and I eat (pretty much) Paleo (except for my beloved glass of red wine with dinner and his occasional beer) when we’re not traveling, I thought I’d look in to the butter in coffee thing. But BulletProof Coffee is proving to be quite an incredible discovery. This stuff makes you lose weight, while retaining muscle and increasing brain functions! And it’s safe for women who still want their bodies to remember they’re women.

I’m on my third morning, having lost 2.5 pounds so far. I feel fantastic, have no cravings at all and am mentally alert. The only exercise I’m doing is my two to three rounds of the 7-minute workout (more on this in another post) which on it’s own in my past three weeks of testing has made no improvement at all, though I have been able to sustain my weight and fitness using it (which to be fair, isn’t bad for 14 to 21 minutes a day). Coupled with the BulletProof Intermittent Fasting though, I seem to be on to a winner.

True to form for me, I of course want to push the boat out some by keeping my glass (or two) of red wine in, and I’ve also added in lemon and hot water first thing in the morning as this does wonders for your skin and getting the toxins out of your liver 1st thing in the morning. Apart from that I’m following the BulletProof eating guide, which is quite close to the Paleo life we follow at home.

My goal is the remaining 6 pounds by the 4th of November, when we leave for a holiday in Spain. I’m doubtful that I can sustain this pace of weight loss – particularly with the weekend approaching when ‘crapola’ – to use a dear friend Dr Simone Laubscher‘s phrase – happens. My prediction will be that after another day the weight loss will slow to half a pound a day and I’ll be set back a pound or two by the weekend. Stay tuned! I’ll update on my progress pre and post weekend.